Pediatric surgery is primarily dealing with the diagnosis, preoperative, operative, and

postoperative management of surgical problems with children, which makes it it’s on specialty
area. These surgeons don’t just deal with living children they also deal with fetuses, infants,
adolescents, and young adults. Pediatric surgeons need special training because of the nature
of the patients and the conditions children suffer from. Surgeons in this field have to learn many
different types of surgeries because of developmental issues, and long term effects.
When pediatric surgery first started in the late 1870’s but took off many years later in the
1940’s. It began with four different pathways. The first pathway was the pioneer surgeons
showed interest in confining their practice to the surgical diseases of children. While the second
pathway began at the Boston School of Ladd and Gross. In which provided legacy and
leadership. This school established principles for surgical care. They also began training
majority of the program leaders in peds surgery. Pathway three was the evolution of organized
pediatric surgery. This pathway initiated the Journal of Peds surgery as a specialty journal and
the evolution of a board certified process. The final pathway was the evolution of a field,
collection of anecdotal clinical observations, and one of scientific achievements based on sound
lab and clinical research.
Being a pediatric surgeon requires many years of schooling. Before you enter med
school you must complete work in a few courses first. Such as biology, chemistry, physics, and
humanities. Those are actually just a few courses you need to complete first. Once you enter
med school it lasts four years. You must pass the Medical College Admissions Test (MCAT)
during the application. For your first and second year at med school you are preparing for
clinicals. You have to complete course work in anatomy, genetics, pathology, microbiology,
pharmacology, and neurology, Once you being year three, you get to take part in clinical
rotations in number of different specialties, including pediatrics and surgery. As a fourth year
med student you will being working toward licensure and direct your clinical rotations to gain
further experience in your intended field.
To practice medicine you need to be licensed. In order to be licensed you need to take
the United States Medical Licensing Exam (USMLE) or the Comprehensive Osteopathic
Medical Licensing Exam. (COMLE) Before becoming licensed you must complete one year of
internship.
After licensing you will be in your residency training. General residency lasts five to six
years. Clinical instruction introduces you to general surgery, trauma, vascular, transplant, and
other surgical specialties through rotation. Advanced residents get to work in elective surgeries.
Residency specialization is after completing general surgical residency, which means you can
apply in residency in pediatrics. When it is your time to do this you will have more
responsibilities, and deal with patients more.
After completing residency training, you will have to get board certified through American
Board of Surgery. Before getting board certified you must have the prerequisites of a license
and have at least five years of residency experience. This experience needs to include
cardiovascular life support, advanced trauma life support, and laparoscopic surgery. In order to
be a board certified pediatric surgeon you need to complete two years in a pediatric surgery
residency, one as chief resident. After you pass the certification exam you need to maintain a
medical license, complete ninety hours of continuing education with sixty hours of self
assessment. You must also pass a cognitive exam in pediatric surgery to renew your
credentials every ten years.
As you further your education you can chose to do one of the subspecialties of
pediatrics. Neonatal is one of them, which is the surgical repair of birth defects, which some can
be life threatening to premature and full term infants. Prenatal is another one, which uses
ultrasounds during fetal stage to detect any abnormalities, that way the surgeon can plan ahead
for corrective surgeries. Trauma, which is the number one killer of children in the United States.
Surgeons are routinely faced with critical care situations involving traumatic injuries. Last but not
least is pediatric oncology, which involves the diagnosis and surgical care of children with
malignant tumors and benign growths.
Being a pediatric surgeon can be rewarding but it can also be very heartbreaking. You
get to help people and save lives, but those you can not save can be the most devastating thing
you've ever been through. At the end of the day saving just one child could be worth it for most
people, no matter how many people you lose throughout that day. Being a surgeon will be
rough, not just because it is many years of schooling, but because it will take over your life and
become a new one. Always remember you will always be someone's hero!
For me, being a pediatric surgeon is something I have always wanted to do. Being born
three months early and weighing only one pound fifteen ounces at birth was really scaring not
just for me, but my entire family. The surgeons, and doctors did everything they could do to
keep me alive. Growing up and realizing that those doctors kept me alive has given me the
ambition and motivation to save a baby who is a premature baby just like I was. I want to give
back because someone saved my life, so I want to save someone else. I want the satisfaction of
making someone’s parent the happiest person in the world.

Pediatric Surgical Associates. (n.d.). Retrieved February 05, 2018, from

https://www.navicenthealth.org/pedsurg/why-children-need-pediatric-surgeons
(n.d.). Retrieved February 05, 2018, from
https://learn.org/articles/What_Are_the_Requirements_to_be_a_Pediatric_Surgeon.html
(n.d.). Retrieved February 05, 2018, from
https://learn.org/articles/What_Are_the_Requirements_to_be_a_Pediatric_Surgeon.html